Tories

Dear Tories, I have a crazy idea. What if you would just call the People to cast their vote and choose their new government?

Please and thank you

You say "please" and "thank you". And you are nice. And you always do it because this is the right way to behave to other people.

But the truth is more complex. You are also what your brain hears. So, being polite is not only about your effect on others - it is also about the effect on yourself.

A pillard of democracy

 Social Mobility. Three steps for it. Article in Portuguese, from Carlos Guimarães Pinto. 

Walk tall

This guy is a football player. He plays in the Champions League, as goalkeeper for Sporting Portugal. He did three really big mistakes (blunders, really) on a very important match - and they had big negative consequences for his team.

But he still:
- walks to the press interview at the end of the match, not hiding behind anyone else ( - confidence);
- owns up to his mistakes publicly (it was not the pitch, the floodlights, his team mates) (- ownership and example);
- focuses on the future (- commitment and improvement)

This is a guy that will learn from what he did wrong. And that thus will be even better in the time to come - and will inspire his team.

If you have someone like him in your team, keep him.

Civic Apathy

 Carlos Moedas' speech today, on Portugal's Republic Day, was right on spot - he called out the "civic apathy" that endangers growth and development. Let his words strike home on millions of Portuguese people and urge them to action.

+40%

Economist Ricardo Reis: “Portugal has not grown for 22 years. It is impossible for someone of responsibility not to think that reform is necessary.

Full article (in Portuguese).

Thank you, Mr Gorbachev

One of the greatest legacies from Gorbachev? The end of the permanent terror of a global nuclear war. From the 60s to the 80s, this was a real and palpable threat, a fear you could feel, a permanent pessimism. The glasnost and perestroika eased that terror away.